Rock Hill teen charged with arson after school bathroom fire

A Rock Hill teenager is facing arson charges after he started a fire in a middle school bathroom, a police report alleges.

The unidentified juvenile reportedly admitted to administrators at Sullivan Middle School that he started a fire in a school restroom on Wednesday.

Students alerted school staff that a soap dispenser inside the boys’ bathroom was on fire at the Eden Terrace school around 11 a.m., according to a Rock Hill police report. The fire was quickly extinguished after causing approximately $100 in damages.

Administrators questioned the suspect after he was seen on surveillance footage entering the bathroom and was found to have a lighter in his pocket. The student allegedly admitted to the school resource officer he set the fire and claimed to have started a different fire in another bathroom on an earlier date.

The boy was petitioned to family court for third-degree arson and damage to property, and was then released to his father.

This story was originally published March 19, 2015 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Rock Hill teen charged with arson after school bathroom fire."